Connect Your Students to Academic Counseling

This week is an ideal time to revisit academic counseling and how it can help students.

Academic Counseling is a service provided by the Academic Resource Center (ARC) to all Webster University students across the worldwide Webster University community.

It involves individual one-on-one sessions for students who would like to develop better organizational and learning strategies. The sessions can include one-time events or ongoing academic counseling and mentoring services.

Academic counseling services

Academic counseling provides many services on a one-on-one basis to students:

• Guidance in improving academic skills
• Guidance in improving time management and stress management
• Help adjusting to college life
• Personalized academic success plans
• Referrals to University resources
• Support to improve their GPAs
• Support to recover from academic probation

Students may meet with an Academic Counselor at any time and as regularly as they would like:

• When they feel they are “not doing well” in their course(s)
• When they want to improve their academic skills
• When they are missing class, falling behind on assignments, or struggling with assignments and/or courses
• When they feel stressed and/or under academic pressure
• When they want to improve their time management skills
• When they are placed on academic probation

Other available services

Additionally, you and your students may also be interested in academic success workshops, which are available to classes and student groups and are short, informative sessions on academic success strategies presented by an Academic Counselor on various topics, such as the following:

• Adjusting to change in college
• Creating a healthy balance
• Managing time in stressful situations
• Resisting procrastination
• Understanding academic expectations

Upcoming Academic Success Workshops

Employees and student groups may request additional/specific presentations by visiting the ARC website and clicking on the Request an ARC Presentation button. 

During the Fall 2020 semester, the following academic success workshops are available:

                                                                                                                                                                        Starting Out Strong
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: Lisa Hempen
Join Zoom Meeting

In this workshop, you will learn how to prioritize assignments and create a plan for completing papers and projects. You will learn about the free MyStudyLife app to improve time management skills.

Student Success Strategies for Virtual Learning
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: Cherie Wyatt and Peer Tutor Panel
Join Zoom Meeting

Are you currently attending a course remotely or online and would like to learn strategies for creating an efficient learning environment? Please join our panel of peer tutors to discuss best practices and strategies in completing an online or remote course as well as how to connect with the Academic Resource Center (ARC) for additional academic support. 

Using Starfish to Connect and Support Your Academic Success
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: Erica Ellard
Join Zoom Meeting

The Student Success Portal, powered by Starfish, is a tool to help you connect with your instructors/professors, staff at the University, and resources and departments at the University. Attend this workshop to learn more about Starfish and how you can use it to best support your academic success. We’ll take action on a few things immediately, review resources and actions to take later/when needed, and expand your understanding about this technology tool.

Effective Communication with Your Professors
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: Carolyn Brown
Join Zoom Meeting

Being able to communicate effectively with your professors helps you succeed in your classes, supports clearer understanding of material, and allows you to seek assistance when needed. In this presentation, we will review the most effective ways to talk to your professors and establish a positive relationship with them.

Demystifying APA
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020
10-11 a.m.
Co-presenters: Carolyn Brown and Holly Hubenschmidt
Register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Learn why and how we cite and how to make the final step in writing your research paper or project easy and effective. We’ll look at free citation generators, University-produced guides, and how library databases can help with citation. Our focus is on APA (7th ed.), which is used in social science and business research, but these tips and tricks will also help if MLA or Chicago is your style of choice.

Creating Balance
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: Cherie Wyatt
Join Zoom Meeting

Is it challenging to feel productive and balanced at the same time? Could discussing strategies for creating balance assist you with virtual learning? This workshop will take you through a journey of understanding what balance is and why it is necessary in our lives. Together, let’s investigate how creating balance can lead to resiliency and academic productivity.

APA vs. MLA
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020
10-11 a.m.
Co-presenters: Carolyn Brown and Holly Hubenschmidt
Register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Confused about how and when to use APA or MLA? In this presentation, we will discuss the uses for both citation styles and review the similarities and differences of each format.  

10 Career Development Hacks to Help You Succeed 
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: John Link
Join Zoom Meeting

Career development is a lifelong process. During this interactive presentation, participants will learn essential career development hacks to help establish and track their personal career goals while developing the skills and confidence necessary to succeed. 

Reading and Writing with a Critical Eye
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020
10-10:45 a.m.
Presenter: Kristin Cobos
Join Zoom Meeting

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when reviewing sources for your writing? This presentation will cover various approaches and techniques to help you develop a critical eye in your writing. We will review different tips for choosing and analyzing research to ensure you are adding validity and relevance with your supporting evidence. We will also discuss how to use objective language correctly in your paper to develop and support your thesis and achieve clarity.  

It’s the End of the Semester as We Know It! Preparing for Finals
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020
4:30-5:15 p.m.
Presenter: Lisa Hempen
Join Zoom Meeting

This session will provide helpful tips to plan for success during final exams and setting yourself up for success.

Scheduling an appointment

Students can schedule an academic counseling appointment with Lisa Hempen, Student Success Coordinator, through the Student Success Portal, powered by Starfish. Just click on the Schedule Appointment button and follow the prompts. (To access the Student Success Portal, students and employees should go to success.webster.edu and log in with their Connections credentials.)

Students can also contact Lisa Hempen via email  to schedule an academic counseling appointment directly.